Path of the Sword
by Maeniel
Summary: K&K ahead. Kaoru is pregnant. Kenshin says a little something that gets the Powers That Be to fiddle with the hands of fate. It's been done, but this has a little twist to it that I have yet to see. COMPLETE.
1. Prologue: Bliss

Disclaimer: If I've said it once, then I've said it once… wait, that doesn't sound right. Okay, I don't own any of them. Only the idea. Sort of.

Notes: Yes, I realize I offended all sorts of people with my last fic. I promise, this one is better. In fact, there is not a word of bashing in here that is not completely normal for the characters. I may write them a bit out of character, but I really will try to keep it neat. 

This is something I wrote not too long ago, and I feel guilty because it is, in a way, similar to my 'Young Again' fic. What with the sci-fi/supernatural edge to it. Anyhoo, this first chapter is totally and one hundred percent sap. You Kaoru/Kenshin lovers out there may like this. It takes place after they got married, as I am terrible at writing that kind of romance. There are no spoilers to speak, although there are minor references. And while overall, I will have this fic as a PG-13, I do consider one chapter as R, and it will be clearly marked. No lemon here, folks. I have not the confidence to post anything like that.

Now that we're done with these horribly long notes, I hope you enjoy. Honest. I do.

Path of the Sword 

Prologue: Bliss

            The morning was cool, that snap of approaching snow in the air. Darkness lightened into twilight with the rising of the pale sun. The dojo was still quiet, the time too early even for Kenshin to be up and about.

            That morning, Kenshin was looking forward to some time with his wife. Yahiko had spent the night in town and was going straight to the Akabeko for the morning rush. He would not be returning until sometime that afternoon, which left Kaoru and Kenshin alone in the dojo.

            The cold was always a thing Kenshin avoided, even now, almost fourteen years after that bitter event that had created this aversion. He was aware of the growing acceptance in his soul, but the pain, he knew, would never completely disappear. It faded, was even forgotten for short periods, but it was not gone.

            Now, he had found a woman who accepted him for who he was. Not only that, she loved him in spite of it all. It was one of the many things that had so endeared her to him. He loved everything about her, even the temper that frequently got him into trouble. Kaoru was, without a doubt, the most important thing in his life.

            Shifting under the blankets of the large futon he shared with his wife, Kenshin mentally groused at the shivers that swept up his spine. He rolled over, intent on gathering Kaoru into his arms and cuddling in her warmth. His hand reached, but all he hit was empty air--very cold, empty air. Kenshin blinked, turning over to stare at that barren spot on the futon.

            "Kaoru?" he said blankly. She was never awake before him--rarely, in any case. But he was alone in the room.

            Glancing around, he spotted the woman's kimono, still hung neatly by the wall. He frowned, cautiously crawling out of the safety of the blankets. Wincing as the cold air hit his skin, he quickly snatched up a heavy over-yukata*, threw it on over his yukata, and made his way to the door. It was open, left that way by Kaoru, no doubt.

            The yard was empty. Occasionally, Kenshin woke to find Kaoru outside, in the middle of the night, just staring up at the stars or standing in a warm rain. Sometimes he left her alone, while at other times he joined her or coaxed her back to bed. This time, though, she was nowhere to be seen.

            "Kaoru?" he called again, forgetting his geta and stepping onto the frozen ground in bare feet. The frost-covered grass burned his feet, but he ignored it, following the soft sounds of someone coughing. He stopped outside the backhouse, hesitating at the door and listening.

            Kenshin had been mistaken in thinking that someone was coughing. Certainly, it sounded like a cough, but there was more. It was the awful sound of retching, sick and unhappy.

            Worried, Kenshin called out to his wife once again, asking if she was okay, even as he knew she was not. Throwing up was a sure sign of someone not being okay. Dense though Kenshin may have been, he knew that Kaoru was sick.

            The gagging stopped abruptly, and he smiled anxiously. He could picture Kaoru, wiping her mouth and face and trying to make herself presentable. She hated for him to see her as weak. Kenshin made a mental to tell her more often how strong she was.

            "I'm fine, Kenshin," her weak, wavering voice belied her words. Kenshin sighed and shook his head. Not yet willing to intrude on her, he placed one hand on the door and tilted his head forward to rest against it.

            "Koishii, you have to stop this," he said gently. "You have been saying 'fine' for a week now."

            He waited, forehead against the back of his hand, listening to the sounds of Kaoru's labored breathing through the door. After several minutes of quiet, he tried once more.

            "Kaoru?"

            Still no response. Fisting his hand in frustration, he glared at the door for all he was worth. The door was not impressed.

            "Kaoru, I want you to go see Gensai-sensei today," he said firmly. He kept speaking before she could voice a protest. "Even if you are fine. Please..."

            The door slid open abruptly, and he faltered forward, unprepared for the sudden lack of support. Kaoru must have moved while he was speaking. She gazed at him uncertainly, caught in his anxious, wide-eyed stare. A tiny smirk crept across her face when she saw that she had caught him off balance, and she reached out to steady him.

            "If I'm fine, then why should I bother with seeing a doctor?" she asked him, her voice low with quiet defiance. "You're the one who can barely stay on his feet."

            Kenshin sighed, frowning worriedly.

            "If you're fine, then you can let me feel silly afterwards for worrying," he gripped her arm, steering her toward the house. "Please, Kaoru-koishii?" he looked at her, violet eyes beseeching. It was a look Kaoru had never been able to resist.

            "Oh, all right!" she burst out in exasperation. "Just stop staring at me like that."

            Her husband smiled triumphantly. It was not often that he won in these domestic arguments. If he tried to count the occasions since he and Kaoru had finally gotten married, he would have been able to do so on one hand.

^_^

*I apologize for that horrible wording. If anyone knows the word for that little over-coat like thing they put on over their night clothes, I would love to know it.

^_^

            Kaoru stared at Megumi as if the woman had suddenly sprouted flowers from her head and said that she was running away with Dr. Gensai. Well, maybe not that second one. In either case, she was shocked. Her mind was utterly blank but for one thing.

            "_Pregnant?!_"

            Megumi nodded happily. Kaoru put a hand to her forehead, suddenly dizzy with the emotions sweeping through her.

            "Pregnant..." she whispered again.

            "Kaoru, I'm so happy for you!" Megumi said with a broad smile. Her face grew sly. "Although it's not all that unexpected. Ken-san has always been the fast one."

            Kaoru turned beet red, and she glared at Megumi murderously.

            "Megumi-san!"

            "We'll have to prepare," Megumi continued, seemingly oblivious to Kaoru's embarrassment. "First off, you have to tell Ken-san. I have some tea I can give you that will help with the morning sickness. Then, you'll have to prepare for when you start to grow-"

            "Grow?" Kaoru murmured anxiously.

            "Ohohohohohoho!"

            Kaoru was getting nervous. Megumi continued to smirk with the knowledge she had that Kaoru did not.

            "Giving birth is a miracle, Kaoru-chan," she said confidently. "You carry around a child in your stomach for nine months, endure the emotional ups and downs, the aches of carrying another twenty or thirty pounds around, strange cravings, getting fat, and then the agony of giving birth. It's wonderful!"

            If Megumi thought she was being encouraging with this little lecture, Kaoru was not getting it. With each word the older woman spoke, Kaoru felt herself grow paler. She swallowed with some difficulty, feeling the remainders of that morning's nausea.

            "Um... Megumi-san?" she squeaked.

            Megumi looked at her, not having expected the girl to interrupt. She smiled at the girl's wild-eyed stare.

            "Don't worry, Kaoru-chan," she tittered. "You'll survive."

            Kaoru thought she might faint.

^_^

            Kaoru stared at the unconscious man in her arms. She had not fainted, and she certainly had not expected Kenshin to, but here he was, out cold. Of course, she had just walked into the room and announced that she was pregnant without prelude. Fortunately for Kenshin, she had been standing near enough to catch him before he found himself going to the doctor with a concussion from the fall.

            "Kenshin no baka," Kaoru muttered affectionately, kissing the man's temple lightly. He mumbled and shifted against her, his eyelids fluttering as he swiftly regained his senses. He stiffened.

            "K-Kaoru?" he stuttered, his eyes flying open as he realized the situation.

            "Kenshin no baka," she said again. Doubt filled her, and she bit her lip, watching her fingers stroke through Kenshin's red hair. "Say something?"

            Kenshin could sense her uncertainty just as sure as if it was his own, and he could not help but chuckle in response to her worry. She tensed, her fingers clenching in his hair automatically.

            "Kenshin?"

            "Kaoru... no..." he lifted his head from her shoulder and wrapped his arms around her gently. "_Baka_."

            She blinked. "Oro?"

            He laughed and shook his head, burying his face in her hair.

            "You call me stupid, but you must be the stupid one if you think I'm not happy," he murmured lovingly. "This is wonderful."

            Kaoru blinked again, this time to clear the tears from her eyes. She smiled and hugged her husband tightly.

            "I don't deserve you," she declared.

            "It is I who do not deserve you, Kaoru-koishii," Kenshin replied, pressing a light kiss to her lips. "I love you so much. Don't ever think that I would be upset over such a miracle."

            Smiling through her tears, Kaoru shook her head.

            "I'm glad," she said sincerely. Her smile faded to be replaced with an expression of blatant anxiety. Kenshin frowned.

            "Kaoru?"

            "I'm scared, too," she whispered. "Megumi-san... she told me everything involved in having a child, and... and I don't know if I can do it."

            Kaoru let out a soft, startled 'eep' when she found herself swept up into Kenshin's arms, lifted from the ground entirely. He pinned her with a look that took her breath away, reproachful and loving at the same time.

            "You, Kamiya Kaoru, are the strongest woman I have ever known," he declared solemnly. "You will do just fine."

            He carried her to their room and gently laid her on the futon, sitting down beside her. She looked up at him, still too pale and frightened. Kenshin sighed and pressed a comforting kiss to her forehead.

            "If I could take your place, I would, Koishii," he said softly. "I would take the burden gladly. But I know you will be perfect. And I will help you through all of it."

            Kaoru sniffled and reached up to touch her husband's face. His eyes widened when she took her fingers away and turned them to show him the shiny wetness. Then, she caught his face, drawing it down to her own, and kissed him deeply.

            "Ai shiteru, Kenshin," she whispered against his lips, loving the dampness of his cheeks against hers. He rarely cried in front of her, and when she knew they were not tears of pain, she felt a warmth flood through her.

            When they parted, Kenshin moved lower, kissing her jaw, her shoulder, her neck, and slid down to kiss her stomach. Even through the many layers of her kimono, Kaoru felt the light caress, and she shivered. When she looked at Kenshin, she could not help but smile. His face was a confusion of love, uncertainty, and awe. He lowered himself beside her, curling up on the futon and resting his head on her chest. Gazing at her stomach, he cautiously laid his hand over her belly, not to grow for another few months. Kaoru's heartbeat steady and strong beneath his ear, he relaxed, content to gaze at his fingers splayed over her stomach. They laid together like that, deep into the night.

End notes: A bit sappy. Oh well, it's nice to have something cute for a change. Review please. And I put a great deal of work into this one, so constructive criticism is appreciated.


	2. Chapter one: An Argument

Disclaimer: I don't own Kenshin, Kaoru, or anyone else in Rurouni Kenshin.

Notes: Okay. Chapter one up. The part that's been done, only I hope it's a tad bit different. I will note that I'm not so good at that make-a-person-burst-out-laughing kind of humor, but maybe the concept will be amusing.

Calger459: Thanks for the word. As you will see, I made use of it in this chapter.

1. An argument

            Manic laughter rose into the darkness, above the din of endless chatter. Most of the babble was incoherent, but here and there, words could be heard.

            "Did you hear?"

            "Can we? Can we?"

            "No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No!"

            "Shut up! Yes!"

            "I don't know."

            "You heard what he said."

            "Is it right?"

            "Who cares?"

            "A switch?"

            "No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No!"

            "Someone get him to shut up. Yes!"

            "No switch."

            "Switch! Switch!"

            "No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No!"

            "_SHUT UP!_"

            "_NO!_"

            "_SWITCH!_"

            "_No!_"

            "_Switch!_"

            "_No!_" "_Switch!_" "_No!_" "_Switch!_" "_No!!!/Switch!!!_"

^_^

            Kenshin jerked awake, a startled gasp on his lips. He laid on his back, staring at the ceiling, his chest heaving as he recovered from what had to be the strangest dream he ever recalled having.

            "Hmmm... Kenshin?" Kaoru's voice was hoarse and low with sleep. 

            Sighing softly, Kenshin turned his head to look at her. He felt vaguely ill, but whether that was from the dream or some other reason, he was not yet certain. Blue eyes blinked at him hazily, and he smiled.

            "Just a dream, Koishii," he murmured. "Go back to sleep."

            "Another nightmare?" she frowned, suddenly alert.

            He shook his head, turning his eyes to stare blankly at the ceiling.

            "No..." he sighed. "Just a strange dream. I'll tell you about it in the morning."

            Rolling over, he climbed out of bed and reached for his haori. Sluggishly pulling it on, he ambled for the door. Kaoru lifted her voice behind him.

            "Where are you going?"

            "To the bathroom, Kaoru," Kenshin smiled over his shoulder at her.

            "Oh."

            With another sigh, Kenshin closed the door behind him. He felt odd, to put it mildly. Running a hand through his loose hair, he wondered absently how it had worked free of its binding. Certainly he had not been thrashing around enough for that to happen. If he had been, Kaoru would have woken him. The red hair was heavy on his shoulders, and he pushed it back impatiently as he made his way to the backhouse.

            The hair wasn't the only thing that bothered him. He felt off balance, unsteady, as if he was carrying something. But his hands were empty. And damned if the backhouse door did not seem just a little larger than usual.

            That was not including how sick he felt. If he had not known Kaoru was only getting sick from her pregnancy, he would have guessed he had caught whatever had made her ill. Now, as he emptied the meager contents of his stomach, he wished that was the case. That would save him from a trip to the doctor.

            Wiping the cold sweat from his eyes, Kenshin sat back and let his chin drop to his chest, recovering. The sick feeling was not gone, but there was nothing left in his stomach to throw up. He would have to suffer the nausea until he could get checked up. Normally that would not have appealed to him; he did everything he could to avoid the doctor usually. But Kaoru was pregnant, and he would not risk getting her ill.

            Kenshin frowned. In this position, from that vantage point, he noticed something that he had felt before, but had ignored.

            Back in the house, Kaoru was torn from her light doze by the sound of Kenshin's sharp yell. She sat straight up, looking around wildly.

            "_KAORU!_"

            The stark panic in that shout had Kaoru out of bed in an instant and running for the backhouse. She burst through the door without a thought to Kenshin's privacy.

            She found him standing unsteadily in the middle of the small room, arms thrown out as if for balance. His hair tumbled around his shoulders crazily, obscuring his face in shadows. But the instant she entered, his head snapped up, and he let out a soft gasp.

            "Kaoru!" It was much weaker than the shout from before, filled with more than a little alarm. 

            "Kenshin, what's wrong?!" Kaoru moved forward to hold him but was stopped by two hands against her chest. She blinked, her eyes going wide. That felt very wrong. She looked down.

            Kaoru let out a muffled shriek, her hand pressed tightly to her mouth to keep from screaming outright. Kenshin jerked his hands back, also afraid of what he had felt. Kaoru's chest was flat. She was not overly endowed before, but now... there was nothing. It was just flat. Like Kenshin's should have been. But when Kaoru looked, she noticed that what she was missing, Kenshin had.

            "Y-y-your chest!" she managed to blurt. 

            Kenshin was obviously trying not to hyperventilate. His violet eyes were wide, the rest of his face too pale in the moonlight. Kaoru noticed something else then as well. She reached forward and touched his left cheek, smooth and perfect.

            "Your _scar!_"

            His hand flew to his face, following her fingers in the tracing of the nonexistent scar.

            "It's gone," Kenshin murmured dumbly. He looked at her, stricken. "Kaoru, this is impossible!"

            "I don't understand how it could just disappear like that either," she murmured sympathetically.

            "Not the scar, Kaoru!" Kenshin grabbed her arms, shaking her lightly. "The rest of it! I'm a-a-... a woman! And you!"

            "A man," she flushed in realization. While she felt the loss of her breasts, there was something that had not been there before. Kenshin, she assumed, was lacking what made him a man now. "Kenshin, what do we do?"

            "Uh..."

            "Don't tell me you don't know what to do?!" Kaoru looked to be on the verge of tears. Kenshin did not want that. He would not have been crying if he was still the man of the family. Something must have been wrong with this female body because he felt tears flooding to his own eyes. If Kaoru started crying, he knew he would never be able to contain them. He did something that was very unlike him: he threw a small temper tantrum.

            "Do I look like I have any idea what's going on?!" he burst out. Yes, something was definitely wrong with him. He hugged himself, then quickly threw his arms out, away from the unfamiliar body. "This sort of thing doesn't happen every day! How should _I_ know what to do?!"

            _"Ahem."_ An unfamiliar voice broke into their argument, and Kenshin and Kaoru ground to an abrupt halt, looking around in confusion.

            "Mou!" Kaoru scowled. There was no one around.

            "Oro..." Kenshin hastily swiped away the tears that had accumulated in his eyes. He could not see anyone either.

            _"That's better."_ The voice was pleasant, neither too high nor too deep. It was one a person could hear dozens of times and forget a moment later. Unremarkable, average, and easily tolerated.

            "Who's there?!" Kaoru demanded. For the first time since she (or he, if one wanted to go into technicalities) had joined Kenshin outside, Kenshin noticed how her voice had changed. It was not much different, but after having heard her almost every day for the past two years, he could pick out the distinct deepening of her pitch. Still Kaoru but with a definite masculinity to the sound. He was not certain he liked it at all. And it made him wonder: had his voice changed as well? Like he didn't sound feminine enough to begin with!

            _"Calm down, both of you, please. You can't see me, and you won't ever see me."_

            "Why not?" Kenshin asked cautiously, feeling silly talking to the air.

            _"Just because."_

            "That's not a reason!" Kaoru growled. Kenshin startled. He really was disconcerted by the change in her voice. It took quite a bit of will power not to ask her to stop talking.

            _"It is if I say it is."_

            "Mou!"

            _"It seems that you two have gotten yourselves into yet another predicament."_

            "We didn't do anything!" Kaoru protested.

            _"Actually, it was your husband's words that started this. He said he would take your place if he could, and it appears that he has."_

            "Oro!"

            "Could you explain that so normal people can understand?"

            _"Certainly. An accident occurred. Some of the others wanted to make you two switch bodies so that Kenshin would be in Kaoru's body while Kaoru would be in Kenshin's body."_

            "This is still my own body," Kaoru pointed out, then blushed. "Sort of."

            _"That would be the accident part. We got into a little argument, you see-"_

            "Some argument got us into this?! Why you litt-mmmmph!"

            Kenshin smiled anxiously, one hand clamped tightly over Kaoru's mouth. He was also slightly disturbed by how much shorter he was. At least, he was shorter than Kaoru. He had never had to reach up that far before to get to her face.

            "Please continue," he requested.

            _"...Right. We had an argument. Half of the group was trying to make the switch while the other half tried to prevent it. So, we have this little mix up. Now, Kenshin is female while Kaoru is male. And somehow, in the mix of things, the baby made it safely from Kaoru's body to Kenshin's."_

            "That's good, right?" Kenshin frowned uneasily. He glanced down at his stomach. A baby? In him?

            _"Very good. If the baby had remained in Kaoru's body, it would have been rejected and absorbed into her. A man simply cannot carry a child."_

            "Gah!" Kaoru pushed Kenshin's hand away finally and glared into the empty room. "So fix this already! Turn us back to normal!"

            _"It's not that easy. If it had been a simple switch of minds, I could do it. But your physiologies have been completely altered, not to mention the transfer of the child."_

            "What are you saying?" Kenshin asked.

            _"Unless you're willing to sacrifice your first child, there is no way to change you back."_

            "**_WHAT?!_**"

            "**_NO!_**"

            _"Like I said... until the baby is born, you will have to remain as you are."_

            "B-b-but!" Kaoru stuttered, shaking her head in denial. "What are we supposed to do until then? I can't go into town like this!"

            "I'm going to carry a baby to term?" Kenshin asked softly.

            _"I'll let you two sort things out. I'll see you in nine months."_

            "Wait-"

            "Don't-"

            Kaoru and Kenshin stared at each other. Neither one knew what to say. Finally Kenshin broke the silence.

            "We'll have to tell our friends," he pointed out hesitantly.

            Kaoru grumbled under her breath and agreed with a heavy sigh.

            "We'll talk to them tomorrow," she decided. "I'm still tired, and you look terrible."

            "I feel awful," he admitted.

            "Do you think you're sick?" Kaoru asked worriedly, reaching to touch his forehead.

            "I think it's because I'm the one with a baby in me now instead of you," Kenshin replied, looking down at his stomach again. Kaoru's anxious gaze softened at the uncertain gleam in his eyes. She had not even gotten used to the thought of being pregnant, and now she wasn't. Kenshin was. How strange was that?

            "Megumi-san gave me some tea that's supposed to help the sickness," Kaoru said gently. "Want me to make some for you?"

            He nodded, smiling gratefully as Kaoru, now the taller of the two, guided him out of the backhouse and toward the kitchen.

            "You're going to have to have a talk with Megumi-san," Kaoru continued as she set some water to boil. 

            "Megumi-san?" Kenshin echoed distantly. He was still busy staring at his stomach, his fingers splayed across his flat belly as if he could feel it already.

            "Sure," Kaoru smiled brightly at him. "Have you ever had a child before?"

            "N-no!"

            "Then you'll have to speak with Megumi-san," Kaoru grinned as she pictured Kenshin, blushing and stuttering to the lady doctor. "She'll tell you everything you need to know."

            "You seem to be comfortable with this," Kenshin grumbled, leaning against the wall wearily. He sank down to sit on the floor and glared at Kaoru halfheartedly. 

            "I don't know," Kaoru grinned, pouring the hot water into a cup. "I could get used to it. No kimonos for nine months. No monthly cycles. No being called busu by Yahiko..."

            Kenshin caught on the kimono part. His face fell.

            "A kimono?"

            "You'll look lovely in my blue and purple kimono," Kaoru smirked. "It'll bring out the color of your eyes."

            Kenshin snatched the tea out of Kaoru's hands and sipped it quickly. He had just found another reason, besides the pregnancy, to feel ill.

More notes: Poor Kenshin and Kaoru. Let's see what kind of torture we can put them through. To prevent my own confusion, I still use the word 'she' for Kaoru and 'he' for Kenshin. If this is confusing or detracts from the story, I apologize, but it should be fairly clear as to who is the character in question. I hope you're anticipating the next chapter: Chapter 2. Check up.


	3. Chapter two: Check Up

Disclaimer: Yeah, yeah. I know. I don't own 'em. I've begged and pleaded, and they won't let me have them. They won't let me buy them either. Apparently the 37 cents leftover from my lunch money won't cut it.

Notes: I am pleased people like this. Not much to say here. Some female talk. *Gasp* Breasts!

Calger459: You're talking about that story Prism, right? I like that story! And I liked the one before that. Keep writing. I'm looking forward to the next installment. *runs off to admire little Shinta*

shiomei: Admittedly, Kenshin makes a nice femme guy. I guess I'm just taking the femme part to the extreme. I'm glad you like the story even if Kenshin is a girl.

Path of the Sword

2. Check up

            Kaoru studied herself--himself--in the looking glass. There were definitely some differences. One, she was taller. She liked that a lot. The difference was not extreme; she was about the height that Kenshin usually was, perhaps a couple of inches taller. Another thing was her face. While she could never consider the face handsome, it was more masculine than before. A slight change in the curvature of her jaw, an arch to her brow, _something_ made her look more like a man than a woman. A pretty man.

            Kenshin had helped her with her hair that morning. Wearing it down or in its usual ponytail would have been inappropriate for a man, so she had asked her husband to help her figure out a more masculine style. She had starkly refused to put it in a low ponytail like Kenshin's usual style, declaring that she did not like the hair against her neck. So now it was up in a samurai's topknot, just a little higher than her usual ponytail.

            If there was one thing about being a man that Kaoru liked, it was that she could dress like one. Her own hakama was a little too short for her, so she borrowed Kenshin's. It was not much better, but at least it was not up around her calves. She noted that the ties to his hakama were too short, but she adjusted by not tying it in the usual bow. The gi she had was fine, so in a blue gi and white hakama, she emerged from the room.

            Kenshin was still in his yukata, looking very ill as he sat against the wall in the kitchen. Kaoru smiled, sympathetic. She knew what it was like to have morning sickness. It was as miserable as he looked.

            "Kenshin, would you like something to eat?"

            He glared at her balefully, and Kaoru giggled.

            "Sorry."

            "I never knew you could be so nasty, Kaoru," Kenshin grumbled.

            "Why aren't you dressed?" she knelt beside him, automatically checking his face for a fever. 

            Kenshin blushed darkly and glanced away, muttering softly. Kaoru leaned forward.

            "What?"

            "I _said_," he growled. "I don't know how."

            Kaoru burst out laughing, earning another glare from her husband. That prompted her to break down into another fit of giggles. His glare simply did not have the same effect when he looked so delicate and feminine. And with that blush spreading across his cheeks, he was far more cute than threatening.

            "I supposed you want to bind the breasts," she predicted.

            Now a nice shade of crimson, Kenshin nodded silently. Kaoru grabbed his hand and pulled him back to their bedroom. She spent the next half hour teaching her husband how to dress like a woman. Of course, she had never bound her breasts while dressing in a kimono, but Kenshin was not used to the extra weight around his chest, and they did get a little cumbersome when moving around too much.

            "I'm jealous, Kenshin," Kaoru murmured as she helped him into the long kimono.

            "Why is that, Kaoru?"

            "You've got a better figure than I had."

            Kaoru spent the next ten minutes being chased around the dojo by her very feminine husband.

^_^

            Early in the morning was never a busy time at the clinic. It was a rare occasion when someone came calling for a doctor. When it happened, it was usually an emergency. Thus, when Megumi heard her name being shouted from the waiting room, she automatically assumed the worst. She rushed out into the large room.

            A young couple stood in the room, neither person of whom was familiar to her. The man was just shorter than Megumi, with long black hair and blue eyes. Beside him was a young woman with hair that startling red of Kenshin's hair, and pretty violet eyes. Megumi blinked. The woman could have easily passed as Kenshin's sister.

            "Hello," she said cautiously, studying the woman openly. "I'm Megumi. What can I do for you?"

            She mentally ticked off the details, one by one. They were obviously here for the woman's sake. She was pale to the point of looking almost sickly. Her eyes were wide and anxious, and the man seemed to be helping her stay on her feet.

            "Megumi-san," the man stepped forward, hugging the woman closer to his side. "This is going to sound strange, but..."

^_^

            Megumi looked back and forth between Kenshin and Kaoru, trying to decide whether to be worried or to burst out laughing. She settled for soft laughter. It was funny. Kenshin in a dress, Kaoru as a man, and both of them distressed over how to deal with it. It was impossible, but here they were, proving the impossible to be true. The doctor in her was intrigued.

            "I wouldn't believe it if Ken-san did not have such distinct looks," Megumi managed between giggles. "You two always manage to get yourselves into some kind of trouble."

            Kenshin and Kaoru had identical expressions of apprehension on their faces. Megumi decided that she had tortured them enough... for now.

            "First off, we'll have to make certain that the baby is okay," she smiled broadly at Kenshin. He cringed.

            "Ano... what does that involve?" he asked, his voice small and uncertain.

            "Ohohohoho!"

            "Megumi-san!" Kaoru growled. "Be nice to him!... Her!"

            "Kaoru!"

            "Sorry."

            "You have nine months to be a woman, Ken-san," Megumi grinned slyly. "You might as well start getting used to it."

            She reached out and caught his hands, pulling him toward the examining table.

            "Oro!"

            Megumi did not miss a beat, pushing the female Kenshin onto the table and gently maneuvering him onto his back. He looked like a frightened rabbit, ready to leap from the table at a touch.

            "Relax, Ken-san," Megumi waved Kaoru over, who immediately went to Kenshin's other side and clasped his hand gently. Megumi smirked. "You can even remain dressed for this part."

            "What are you going to do?" Kenshin demanded, his hand clenching spasmodically over Kaoru's, making his wife wince. He jumped as Megumi's hands slid over his waist, reaching to push the obi aside. "Hey!"

            "Kenshin," Kaoru touched Kenshin's shoulder, pushing him back down. His wide eyes darted to stare at her. She smiled warmly. "Anata, it's a routine examination. She'll feel for the baby in your stomach. It's okay. Really."

            "I want to be sure everything is in order," Megumi added. "If you're really carrying the child, then we'll have to check this frequently. You're not exactly a typical woman."

            His eyes went narrow in annoyance, but he took a deep breath and relaxed back on the table. When Megumi's hands glided over his waist again, he twitched but did not move otherwise. Clamping his eyes tightly shut, he concentrated on breathing while Megumi pressed hard into his stomach, feeling for the fetus.

            "Ah, there you are," Megumi smiled warmly. She looked up to Kaoru, who was watching with interest. "The baby seems to be just fine. Whatever happened to make this switch, it turned out all right. Ken-san's carrying the baby, just as any woman should."

            Kenshin opened his eyes, a little hopeful. Lifting his head slightly, he looked back and forth between Kaoru and Megumi.

            "So everything's okay?" he asked.

            "You're very healthy," Megumi grinned. "For a young woman."

            He sighed and let his head thunk back to the table. Kaoru looked at Megumi worriedly.

            "About that, Megumi-san..."

            "You want to know if this is all as real as it looks, do you?" Megumi tittered. "It looks real enough to me."

            Kaoru scowled, only Kenshin's solid grip on her hand preventing her from grabbing Megumi's apron and shaking the woman angrily.

            "It's not proper for a man to strike a woman, Kaoru-chan," Megumi grinned. "You should remember that. So no hitting Ken-san. Especially now that he's in such a delicate condition."

            "Megumi-dono," Kenshin sat up, quickly placing himself between Kaoru and the lady doctor. He frowned at the woman who was teasing his wife. "Will you at least let us get used to this before you start provoking Kaoru?"

            "Ohohohoho!"

            Kenshin and Kaoru exchanged long-suffering glances and waited for Megumi to finish. Finally, the woman stopped laughing, and she grew serious, with only a slight smirk.

            "Kaoru-chan, I'd like to examine you first," she said, gesturing to the next room. "It'll be a routine physical examination. Ken-san, I'm sure, can tell you that nothing terrible will happen."

            'Ken-san' decided not to mention that he always went to Dr. Gensai when he was required to take off more than his shirt. Which was another thing that brought him up short. He had a woman's body, but his mind was definitely his own--with male thoughts and all. It was awkward, having breasts and the usual woman's body parts. He had never been particularly conscious of his body before, but now he was extremely aware of how he looked. 

            Kenshin smiled when he heard Kaoru's angry shout coming from the next room. No doubt Megumi had made some inappropriate comment. But he had other things to think about at that moment--like where the nearest washroom was. He dashed out of the room, rapidly found the latrine, and threw up.


	4. Chapter three: A Secret

Disclaimer: See that little red-headed girl over there? And that guy with the black hair? Yeah, they're mine. Their names… those aren't. The real Kenshin and Kaoru are standing off in the sidelines laughing their heads off and being glad this isn't really happening to them. Seriously, I don't own anything involved in Rurouni Kenshin.

Notes: Okay, I will admit right now that this story is completed. I just put up a chapter at a time as I get the opportunity. I apologize for all of you who really want a lot more of Kaoru and her adjustment. I have a little of it, but I have this nasty tendency to make the girl too mean or whiny in my stories when I focus around her. It's not that I don't like her. I think she's a good, strong female character. I appreciate that. So I don't want to mess with that. My apologies. I hope you like this story anyway.

The Path of the Sword

3. A secret

            Leaving the clinic in Dr. Gensai's capable hands, Megumi walked back to the dojo with Kaoru and Kenshin. Kaoru was still grumbling under her breath about cold, poking fingers while Kenshin was silent, his face very red. Megumi smirked.

            "You'll have to tell Sanosuke and Yahiko, of course," she said as they entered through the side gate. "Yahiko still lives with you, after all. He's bound to notice."

            "Sano is never going to let me live this down," Kenshin muttered, studying the ground like it was the most interesting thing he had seen in a long time.

            "Yahiko will be worse," Kaoru predicted. "I'll bet he's home now. **_YAHIKO!_**"

            Megumi and Kenshin tended to their ringing ears while Kaoru stalked off to find the boy. Both of them watched the strange, feminine swing to the now-male Kaoru's step.

            "You're going to have to teach her how to walk like a man, Ken-san," Megumi giggled.

            "Oro..." Kenshin shook his head. "Kaoru walks just fine... mostly."

            "I could recruit Sanosuke to teach her," Megumi suggested.

            "That might not be a bad idea," Kenshin startled the woman by smiling pleasantly in response to what was meant to bait him. "In my current condition, I'm hardly the prime candidate for teaching Kaoru how to act like a man."

            Megumi snickered and nodded her agreement.

            "I'll start the word around that you and Kaoru-chan are on a long vacation," she decided. "And if you want to ever go into town, you'll have to come up with a story for yourselves."

            "You mean like an alias?" Kenshin looked up at the taller woman curiously. He was even shorter than usual. It was bad enough that Megumi had already been taller than him, but now he actually had to tilt his head to look up at her when she stood so close to him.

            "Do you really want everyone to know that Battousai is a pregnant woman?" Megumi grinned at him.

            Kenshin blushed.

            "Of course not!"

            "Then you'll have to come up with a cover story," she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "And take care of yourself. If you get hurt, the baby gets hurt. Remember that."

            Kenshin watched her with wide eyes as she walked away, a gentle sway to her step that was much more graceful than Kaoru's gait. He wondered if he could ever walk like that. Probably not. Then, he blushed again, appalled at his own thoughts.

            "Oi, Kenshin!"  
            "Oro!"

            He whirled to look for the source of that voice. Sanosuke had not yet rounded the side of the dojo. But that was only a momentary reprieve, as the lanky brawler appeared, grinning and chewing on his ever-present fish bone.

            Sanosuke stopped, his grin freezing on his face, the fish bone drooping slightly. The smirk came back full force as he continued forward, toward Kenshin.

            "Hello there," he greeted, his voice deepening slightly. Kenshin flushed, not liking how Sanosuke's tone had changed. "Are you waiting for someone?"

            Too embarrassed to speak, Kenshin just shook his head mutely. Sanosuke had a strange tinge of pink to his cheeks, and Kenshin found himself blushing even more.

            "Maybe I can help you, then," Sanosuke continued, oblivious to Kenshin's discomfort. He leaned forward until he was far into Kenshin's personal space. "My name is Sanosuke. You must be related to Kenshin. No one else has hair like that. It's beautiful. I like what you've done with it."

            "Sano!" Kenshin's face went completely red. The man was flirting with him!

            Sanosuke blinked, then grinned again.

            "You like to skip the formalities," he predicted. "What's your name?"

            Kenshin planted his hands against the tall man's chest and easily shoved him back. Startled, Sanosuke just blinked at him.

            "You don't have to get so upset about it," he protested.

            "Sano, it's me!" Kenshin clenched his fists in irritation. "Kenshin!"

            Sanosuke stared at him. Kenshin wondered if there would ever be a time when he did not blush again. His face was as hot as it had ever felt.

            "Yeah, right."

            This was getting out of hand.

            "Oi! Kenshin!" Yahiko's voice was quickly drawing closer. "There's some strange guy in our house!"

            Kenshin groaned and buried his face in his hands.

^_^

            "AAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!"

            Kaoru and Kenshin just watched helplessly as Yahiko and Sanosuke collapsed against each other, laughing uncontrollably. Kenshin had since changed out of the kimono and into a set of Kaoru's practice clothes, more for comfort than necessity. Now, he sat with Kaoru, vainly trying to sip his tea with some semblance of dignity.

            Yahiko and Sanosuke had first reacted with disbelief and skepticism. Then as the proof accumulated, they had no choice but to believe the story they were being told. Now, they were unable to contain their laughter.

            "You two aren't being very helpful!" Kaoru shouted over their snorts and chuckles as they had to break to breathe.

            "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

            Kaoru scowled, looking to Kenshin for some help. He just shrugged and sipped more tea. It really did help his stomach, and at the moment, that was more important to him than Yahiko's and Sanosuke's amusement.

            "Kenshin, make them stop!" Kaoru demanded.

            "W-w-why should he-he-_heeee!_ Why should Kenshin do it?" Sanosuke managed to blurt around his laughter. "You're the m-man of- the man of the fami-HAHAHAHAHA!"

            Kenshin sighed and stood. Sanosuke and Yahiko ignored him, still laughing raucously. They stopped laughing very quickly when Kenshin took hold of one ear each and pulled on them until they were shouting for mercy.

            "I may not be a man right now, Sano," Kenshin released their ears, now red and sore. "But I am far from helpless. You can laugh later. Right now, we need you two to listen."

            "Itai..." Yahiko grumbled, holding his poor, injured ear. "You're already starting to act like a girl, Kenshin. Only girls pull on people's hair and ears."

            Kenshin frowned but refused to comment, returning to his seat beside Kaoru. He picked up his tea again and calmly sipped it.

            "Is that better, Kaoru?"

            "Much," Kaoru glared at Sanosuke and Yahiko. "We need to keep this a secret you guys. Kenshin can't fight, so if anyone finds out about this, he could get hurt."

            "Don't you mean _she_?" Sanosuke snickered.

            "Sano, you're getting annoying," Kenshin sighed.

            "Give me a break, Kenshin," Sanosuke was still laughing. "If I can't tease you, who can? Besides," he winked at his friend. "I'm the one who tried to hit on you."

            "You _what?!_" Kaoru was not amused.

            "Kaoru, it was just a misunderstanding," Kenshin interjected quickly. "He did not recognize me."

            "Damn right," Sanosuke pointed at Kenshin rudely. "His scar is gone too! No one would have known."

            "_I_ recognized Kenshin last night," Kaoru said hotly.

            "Kenshin was screaming for you at the top of his lungs," Yahiko rolled his eyes, scratching the back of his head lightly. "I could hear you halfway across town."

            "You could not!"

            "Whatever."

            "Please, you three," Kenshin set his cup down, exasperated. "This is serious. No one can know about this. That's a very big secret for you to keep. If you think for a minute that you can't, then maybe we should go somewhere else until this is resolved."

            That brought everyone up short. Yahiko shook his head.

            "No way!" he blurted.

            Sanosuke agreed with him.

            "Besides," he added. "Megumi's the expert on pregnancies around here. You guys have to stay where she can reach you."

            Kenshin smiled triumphantly.

            "So you'll keep it a secret?"

            "Of course!"

            "Yeah!"

            Kaoru grinned. Kenshin could certainly be devious when he wanted to. She was proud of him.

            "Sano, I'd like you to hang around the dojo until this is over," Kenshin added. "You can help Kaoru protect the place, and maybe you can teach her a little bit about behaving like a man in town."

            She hated him. A vein popped forth from her forehead as she began to steam.

            "I don't need help protecting my dojo!" she yelled furiously. "And I don't need _Sanosuke_, of all people, teaching me how to act like a man!"

            Kenshin yelped, a handful of his hair caught in Kaoru's fist. She dragged him to his feet, still yelling at him, calling him every name she could think of.

            "_Kenshin no baka!!_" was the usual conclusion.

            "Kaoru-dono-" he cut off, realizing his mistake the instant the word left his mouth. While Kaoru was busy growing very red in the face, the rest of her frozen, he slipped his hair free of her grasp. Not waiting for any prompting, he retreated quickly, hiding behind Sanosuke, who looked at him in laughing confusion. His confusion was immediately dispelled as Kaoru screamed at the top of her lungs:

            "**_DON'T CALL ME KAORU-DONO!!!!_**"

Notes: Oh, that Kaoru-dono thing just came from reading too many of those WAFFy fics where Kaoru feels Kenshin is putting distance between them by calling her –dono. Next chapter: Chapter 4: First Trimester.


	5. Chapter four: First Trimester

Disclaimer: No, I don't own them.

Notes: Ah, you ask me to update sooner, you silly person. My, but shall I flood the place with little bitty chapters? Seriously, I make certain all my stories are finished before I start posting. Otherwise I post chapters I don't like, and then if I remove them entirely people get confused, and it all just goes haywire. Well, that and I do have a bad habit of leaving works unfinished. *Gazes mournfully at her modern Slayers fic that was really coming along nicely over a year ago* Ho hum. So as not to upset readers, or frustrate myself, I will not do that. And here we are, oh impatient ones. ^_~. Chapter four.

The Path of the Sword

4. First trimester

            Kenshin stood in front of the looking glass that night, studying his new body for the first time since they had discovered the change. For the most part, he looked the same--at least, while he was dressed. His hair was braided for sleep, much like Kaoru usually wore, and he was tempted to pull it into the low ponytail. That hair, unruly and thick, just was not meant to be braided.

            Moving slowly, almost cautiously, he untied the hakama and stepped out of the loose cloth when it fell to the floor. He could not contain his blush as that allowed the gi to hang open, revealing bound breasts. That was something he did not think he would ever get used to. Kenshin was still blushing as he carefully untied the wrappings and let them fall to the floor.

            Had he been a man, looking on at a woman, he would have thought the woman in the mirror was breathtakingly beautiful. As it was, he could only stare uncomfortably at himself, the goddess in the mirror.

            "Admiring yourself, Anata?"

            Kaoru approached him from behind, holding up a yukata. Kenshin sighed and slipped his arms into the sleeves of the garment. Kaoru let it fall over his shoulders and watched as he tied it at the waist.

            "I have a hard time believing that person in the looking glass is me," he admitted.

            "You and me, both," Kaoru chuckled, wrapping her arms around Kenshin. She loved how much smaller he was, allowing her to envelop him in a warm embrace. "You're still you."

            "With breasts," Kenshin grumbled, resting his head on Kaoru's shoulder.

            "And such nice breasts they are," she replied.

            "Kaoru!"

            "Sorry," Kaoru snickered. "It must be these male hormones getting to me."

            "I was never like that."

            "I always did wonder."

            "_Kaoru!_"

            "Sorry!"

^_^

            Now, Yahiko had always known he lived with strange people. Kaoru was a tomboy raccoon girl who acted more like a man than a proper lady. Of course, Kenshin was a former hitokiri from the revolution--the best--and that alone made him odd. Since they had discovered Kaoru was pregnant, although now it was _Kenshin_ who was pregnant, everything before seemed perfectly normal in comparison.

            Kaoru was a man. That he could live with. After all, she always acted like one, so why not? She was, he had to admit to himself (never aloud), pretty for a man. It was like looking at Kenshin with blue eyes and black hair, and a little taller.

            Kenshin was the person Yahiko had a difficult time reconciling himself with. It was bad enough that he was such a domestic, but now he had the figure to match. Even now, the man... woman... was out in the yard, hair pulled up in a strange-looking, high ponytail, washing the laundry. 

            It was obvious that the former hitokiri was very uncomfortable with himself, which made Yahiko feel a little better. At least he wasn't the only person who thought that this whole situation was weird. Yahiko also found it very amusing when Kenshin would drop whatever he was washing very suddenly and dash across the yard to the backhouse. Kaoru had explained morning sickness to him, so Yahiko knew that Kenshin was not going to the latrine for its traditional use.

            "Yahiko!"

            Flinching, he quickly resumed sweeping the walkway. But, for once, Kaoru was not there to scold him for drifting off during his chores. She appeared from around the corner and stopped, looking around.

            "Have you seen Kenshin?"

            Yahiko waved at the abandoned wash bucket.

            "He's doing the laundry," he replied carelessly. "In between trips to the bathroom."

            Kaoru sighed.

            "I was hoping he would help make some lunch."

            "Ugh," Yahiko grimaced, glaring at Kaoru as if the girl-turned-man had gone insane. "I'd rather risk _your_ cooking than having Kenshin throw up in my lunch."

            Kaoru looked a little ill at the thought herself. Yahiko was surprised that she did not immediately jump him for insulting her cooking.

            "You have a point," she grumbled. "And my cooking isn't that bad."

            Well, he almost made it without getting rebuked. But he did not get thwacked. That was a bonus. Kaoru's punch had gotten much stronger since she had become a man.

            "Well, _you_ can help me cook then," she said abruptly.

            "_What?!_"

            "Come on, Yahiko," Kaoru grabbed his arm and dragged him along to the kitchen.

            They passed Kenshin, emerging from the backhouse. He blinked at them blearily.

            "Oro? Kaoru, what are you doing to Yahiko?"

            Kaoru stopped and smiled warmly at her sick husband.

            "He's going to help me make lunch," she replied brightly. "We're going to have onigiri and miso."

            Kenshin nodded absently, then turned on his heel and went back into the backhouse. A few seconds later, they heard his retching through the door.

            "Way to go, Kaoru," Yahiko snickered. "Just the thought of your cooking makes Kenshin sick."

            "Oh, shut up!"

^_^

            It had been a good day.

            Kaoru had discovered a way of making some income while she was unable to visit other dojos. She had gotten a temporary job at the Akabeko, mostly clearing tables and being an errand boy. Yahiko was less than thrilled to work with her, but he had grudgingly admitted that it was a good idea. In addition to some extra money, Kaoru received much of the leftover food the nights she worked, to bring home to her pregnant 'wife.' 

            Their cover story was that Kaoru was a cousin, going by only the surname. It saved on confusion when everyone called her Kamiya-san. So Kamiya was a man from Kyoto, come to Tokyo to watch the dojo for his cousin while she and her husband went on a late honeymoon. He had brought his wife, Kamiya Kouri, with him, who was pregnant with their first child. Tae was anxious to meet his wife, of course, but Kamiya was adamant that the woman remain at the dojo until she was past the first stages of the pregnancy--namely, the morning sickness.

            Kenshin was happy because he had made it through an entire day without getting sick. Megumi had explained to him that morning sickness lasted anywhere from a month to three months, and it had already been a month and a half. If he had to last another month and a half through the sickness, Kenshin was not certain what he would do. It was bad enough that he had to adapt to having female parts and the hormones that went with them, without throwing up every day.

            Sanosuke, oddly enough, had been very helpful around the dojo. He had not once complained about Kaoru's cooking and had even done some repairs around the place. The leaky roof was solid once again, and he proved adept at making simple things, like tea for Kenshin. And he quickly adapted to Kenshin being a woman. No longer did he feel the urge to flirt with his best friend, and when Kaoru was not there to help, he was quick to offer to help Kenshin get dressed in the morning, heat the redhead's bath, and even help with the laundry. For some reason, despite his physiological change, Kenshin never minded if Sanosuke saw him undressed. Yahiko, he would certainly never allow in the room, and Kaoru only because they were married. There was no rational reason, but Kenshin tolerated Sanosuke's presence without complaint.

            For the first time in over a month, the group got together for dinner. Megumi came to the dojo to cook a meal for them and check Kenshin's condition. Everyone else hovered around a very self-conscious Kenshin when Megumi made him lay down so she could press around his stomach to feel for the baby. Kaoru, of course, insisted on feeling for the baby as well, wanting to be part of the experience. The surprise was that Yahiko wanted to try, and soon, Kenshin found himself with several sets of hands on his belly.

            "Cool!" Yahiko breathed, his eyes bright with excitement as Megumi pressed his hands down in the right places. Kenshin could not help but smile at the boy's enraptured face. He glanced to the side and saw Sanosuke, wavering on the edge of indecision. He smiled, laughing softly when Yahiko's hand brushed his side, tickling him. 

            "Oh!" Yahiko blinked. "Do that again!"  
            Kenshin frowned.

            "Do what?"

            "Laugh!"

            Unable to help himself, Kenshin did laugh again. Yahiko's eyes lit up excitedly, and he grinned.

            "Cool!" he repeated.

            Kaoru sat to the side, smiling warmly at Yahiko. She exchanged knowing glances with Kenshin. Finally, Megumi reached out and grabbed Sanosuke's hand, pulling him forward.

            "Hey!" Sanosuke blurted, startled when the doctor guided his hand to Kenshin's stomach. 

            "Relax, you dummy," Megumi smirked, finding the proper place, low on Kenshin's abdomen, and pressed Sanosuke's fingers down. "Anyone can tell you're feeling left out."

            Sanosuke forgot to protest when he felt the slight movement beneath his fingers, his jaw dropping. Kenshin grinned, thinking that being subjected to this was worth it, just to see Sanosuke like that. He settled his head back on the cushion Megumi had put there for him and felt ready to face whatever else this pregnancy had to offer.

^_^

            Kenshin wanted the nine months to be done, and he wanted them to be done now. Various unhappy thoughts flashed through his mind as he threw up into a bucket, not having been able to make it as far as the backhouse. A tear rolled down his cheek, and he reached up to swipe it away, not understanding why he was crying.

            "Anata," Kaoru's gentle voice came from behind him, and he leaned back against her flat, muscular chest. A man. She was a man. The thought brought more tears to his eyes.

            "Kenshin, what's wrong?" Kaoru asked anxiously.

            "What's wrong?!" he sniffled, dragging his sleeve across his eyes angrily. "You're a man, I'm a woman, and I'm pregnant, and you're asking what's wrong?!"

            "You seemed to be okay with it before," Kaoru muttered uneasily.

            "That was before I threw up everything I had for dinner!" Kenshin burst out into a fresh bout of tears. "When is this going to be over?"

            Kaoru did not reply, just hugging him closer. She did not feel the urge to cry, although usually Kenshin in tears would make her eyes water. Instead, she just hugged the small, feminine body close to her chest, letting Kenshin cry on her shoulder. The mumbled words before he drifted off into slumber made her smile.

            "I hate crying."

Notes: Okay, that chapter ending was supposed to be cute, not sad. Hormones and emotions leap and fall and twist around little poles during pregnancy, as I'm sure anyone who has ever watched TV will know. Next time, chapter five: Kaoru takes Kenshin to the Akabeko.


	6. Chapter five: The Akabeko

Disclaimer: Wow, but I get sick of writing that I don't own these characters. Do I have to do this every chapter? Methinks that next time I will post a big one right at the beginning that encompasses the entire story. *Nods as if that was the best idea since sliced bread*

Notes: Here's a rather short chapter. I hope you all like it.

The Path of the Sword

5. The Akabeko

            They survived the first three months. Kenshin stopped getting sick every day, Kaoru got the hang of walking, talking, and just _being_ a man when she was around other people, and their friends no longer found it so disconcerting to see them in their opposite-gendered conditions.

            According to Megumi, the baby was developing normally, which was a relief to all involved. Kenshin still was not showing any outward signs of the pregnancy, but that, too, Megumi told them was normal.

            And Tae finally got to meet the mysterious Kamiya Kouri.

            "I don't know about this."

            Kaoru was not working until the evening shift, so she was treating the group to lunch at the Akabeko. Actually, it was on the house. Tae had insisted, so long as 'Kamiya-san' brought his wife along. While Kaoru had grown accustomed to acting properly in town, Kenshin was feeling a bit apprehensive.

            "Do I have to wear the kimono?" he asked unhappily.

            "People will get suspicious if you walk around town in men's clothing," Kaoru explained, holding up a kimono she had purchased with her new spending money. It was a beautiful thing, the silk of deep purple with white butterflies and flowers decorating the sleeves and hem-line. The obi, which was a contrasting blue, Kaoru skillfully tied around his waist.

            Kenshin blinked at himself when she pushed him in front of the mirror.

            "Oro," he murmured dumbly.

            "You're beautiful, Kouri," Kaoru winked.

            Kenshin blushed and glared at her reflection. He stood rigidly as she swept his hair up into a ponytail and tied it off with a blue ribbon that matched the obi. Kaoru stood back, straightening her own clothes and hair while Kenshin stared at himself in the mirror.

            "I'll never pull this off," he announced.

            "Who do you think you're fooling?" Kaoru grinned. Kenshin's blush deepened. "Sanosuke, you can come in now!"

            Kenshin turned with a gasp, staring wide-eyed at Kaoru.

            "You mean Sano's coming too?" he blurted.

            Sure enough, the shoji snapped open, and Sanosuke walked into the room. He grinned at Kaoru, then caught sight of Kenshin. The former fighter-for-hire whistled loudly.

            "Looking good, Kenshin," he laughed.

            Kenshin glared at them with an 'I-hate-you-all' expression on his face. Kaoru and Sanosuke both went forward to guide the disgruntled rurouni out of the room.

            "That death glare isn't worth much on a face as pretty as yours, Kouri," Sanosuke snickered.

            "Who chose that name, anyway?" Kenshin grumbled.

            "Yahiko." Kenshin scowled, unable to say anything in response to that.

            "And what should I call Kaoru?" he demanded. "Surely people will be suspicious if her supposed cousin has the same name."

            "You'll call me Anata, of course," Kaoru kissed his cheek quickly before they walked out onto the street. "And Sanosuke will be there to help make sure you don't screw up."

            "Remember the rules, Kouri?" Sanosuke asked, suddenly serious.

            "Hai, hai," Kenshin sighed. "No using 'oro' 'dono' 'de gozaru' 'sessha'-"

            "I still want you to stop using that sessha," Kaoru growled. "Why do you insist on calling yourself that?"

            "Because I have an inferiority complex that'll last until I feel I have repented for all my sins," Kenshin rattled off automatically. "That, and twelve years of calling myself sessha makes a habit that is very hard to break."

            Kaoru and Sanosuke rolled their eyes but let it pass.

            "The other rules?" Kaoru prompted.

            "Um... kneel on a cushion so I don't flash the room," Kenshin said, thinking of all the things he had to do now that he was a woman. "Don't greet anyone I know in town because I'm not supposed to know them... ano..." he flushed in mixed irritation and embarrassment. "No complaining about not having my sakabatou."

            "I think that's it," Kaoru patted Kenshin's shoulder. "Sanosuke?"

            "No flirting with the guys, Kouri," Sanosuke added, winking lightly. "You're a married woman."

            Kaoru snorted, biting her lip and covering her mouth to prevent laughing aloud. Kenshin glared at Sanosuke.

            "I am going to hurt you," he announced.

            "Just as long as you be feminine about it," Sanosuke tugged Kenshin's ponytail gently.

            Kenshin swatted at Sanosuke and ended up tripping over the kimono. Kaoru caught him before he could fall face-first to the dirt.

            "Careful!" she rebuked. "That's a brand new kimono. I'm not coughing up anymore money for you if you tear up what I get the first time you use it."

            "I'll get you two for this," Kenshin grumbled, letting Kaoru help him along until he regained his balance. "When I get my body back, you two are in for some big-time payback."

            Kaoru and Sanosuke enjoyed a bout of laughter at Kenshin's expense.

^_^

            Tae was as cheerful as ever when she greeted the trio, happily introducing herself to 'Kouri.' Kenshin just hoped he did not come off as a snob in his apprehensive responses.

            They had beef hot pot, tea, and sake. Kenshin, of course, did not drink the sake. He had to keep the baby's health in mind, after all. Tae sat beside them, beaming with pleasure.

            "I'm just so pleased that you have Sanosuke-san and Yahiko-kun around to help you two get adjusted in our city," she said sincerely. "And I'm glad that you're well enough now to finally come visit us, Kouri-san."

            "So am I," Kenshin replied demurely, much to the amusement of Kaoru and Sanosuke. As was to be expected, he skillfully manipulated the conversation to a safe subject. "My husband has told me so much about you, Tae-san. He said you have a relative in Kyoto who owns a restaurant like this one."

            "That's the Shirobeko," Tae nodded, smiling happily. "It's run by my sister, Sae..."

            And so the evening went. Their hot pot came, and Kenshin surprised the group by eating with a hearty appetite. At their curious stares, he just shrugged and smiled innocently.

            "I must say, Kamiya-san," Tae shook her head in amazement. "You and Kaoru have similar tastes in friends and spouses."

            Kenshin nearly spilled his tea, and he looked at Tae in shock. Kaoru smiled, much too broadly.

            "What makes you say that, Tae-san?" she asked.

            "Well, you seem to get along well with Sanosuke-san and Yahiko-kun," Tae blushed. Her observation had been a little too forward, but she continued anyway. "And Kouri-san looks a lot like Kenshin." She brightened then, turning to look at Kenshin. "Have you met Kenshin?"

            Sanosuke raised his eyebrows, but no one noticed his amused expression. Kaoru was watching Kenshin anxiously, wondering what he would say. And Kenshin... he smiled a smile that dazzled the others.

            "Of course I've met Kenshin," he said lightly. "He's a charming man. Handsome and polite and patient. Kaoru got herself quite a catch with him-"

            Sanosuke snorted and burst out laughing, unable to stop it. Kaoru covered her face with both hands, wishing herself somewhere else. Kenshin just continued to smile, nodding in agreement when Tae murmured a soft, "oh my."

            The night went smoothly after that. Eventually Kaoru had to excuse herself and headed off to work. She made certain before she left that Kenshin would not be walking back to the dojo alone. Sanosuke was along expressly for that reason. He just patted Kenshin's shoulder and said they'd be fine. Kenshin's smile had grown a bit strained at that, but he nodded as well.

            After saying good-bye to Tae, Kenshin and Sanosuke left, relieved and in good spirits.

Notes: Sadly, very short. Kenshin is a bit forward in this chapter, but I thought it turned out okay. Chapter six: Sano and Kenshin run into a bit of trouble on the way home. What is Rurouni Kenshin without a bit of conflict?


	7. Chapter six: Trouble--R

Disclaimer: I don't own them.

Notes: Ooooh… on an Escaflowne kick… there she is. Three out of five stars… Waitaminute… Anyway, we were posting a Kenshin fic. Ah, so here's the one rather serious chapter of the story. I would consider this chapter an R rating, just on adult situations and violence. Perhaps I am overrating this chapter, but it's better safe than sorry, right? Anyway, here we are. I hope you like.

The Path of the Sword

6. Trouble

            "That was something," Sanosuke snickered, swiping tears from his eyes. "I never would have thought you'd go and do that."

            "It never hurts to promote yourself," Kenshin murmured, still grinning smugly, pleased with himself. "Kami knows, you do it all the time."

            "But I sound like an ass trying to make myself look good," Sanosuke shrugged. "You came off as a friendly woman complimenting her friend."

            Kenshin laughed. He did not agree with Sanosuke, nor did he say anything to the contrary. Sanosuke was tempted to drag his friend into a headlock, but that would not have looked good. He would have looked like he was attacking a woman.

            Their attentions were drawn away from their good-natured bantering when they heard a shout ahead. Both looked up, curious as to what the reason behind that shouting was.

            A crowd was already gathering, a wide circle that nearly blocked the street. Several men were guiding women and young children away, nudging them to the outskirts of the crowd. Kenshin's eyes narrowed, and Sanosuke frowned.

            "Looks like a fight," Sanosuke commented. "Stay here. I'll see what's up."

            "Stay here?" Kenshin echoed skeptically. "Sano, I don't-"

            "You're unarmed, female, and pregnant," Sanosuke interrupted brusquely, pushing Kenshin to the side of the street. "Wait here, and I'll make sure everything's all right."

            Sighing impatiently, Kenshin leaned back against the wall, careful not to stumble into the alley when he did so. He watched as Sanosuke jogged toward the crowd, a bit resentful at having been left behind. Surely he was not that much of a burden. It was not like he would get in the way.

            That thought brought him up short. Was that how Kaoru felt much of the time? Those times when he pushed her back, scolded her for rushing brazenly into trouble, or even told her half-truths to keep her safe--was this how she felt? If it was, he needed to reevaluate his actions.

            The fight seemed to be over. The crowd was drifting away, returning to their daily activities. Kenshin pushed away from the wall, searching the distant crowd for Sanosuke. He barely acknowledged the steps of people running behind him. It was likely some police officers, drawn in late to the action.

            Kenshin never expected the arm that wrapped around his waist, nor the large hand that clamped over his mouth. Startled, he momentarily forgot to struggle as he was pulled back into the alley. Then, common sense kicked in, and he twisted, his heel slamming down onto his assailant's foot even as he shoved his elbow back into soft gut.

            The man choked and released him. Make that men--there were four of them. Kenshin gave ground, stumbling back, movement made awkward in the kimono. He hit the wall, and there was no place else to go. The men had surrounded him, all four grinning obscenely.

            "What do you want?" Kenshin demanded, eyes darting from man to man, trying to decide which one would lunge first.

            "A pretty little thing like you doesn't know?" one man laughed, momentarily drawing Kenshin's glare to the right.

            The man to the left jumped forward, and Kenshin ducked. The man fell over him, landing in an ungraceful heap on the other side. Another one moved forward. His limp told of who he was. Kenshin's fist met the man's face, injuring both himself and the man.

            Shaking out his bruised hand, Kenshin hopped back, sidestepping to avoid the man who had tripped over him. His knuckles throbbed from the contact that had broken the other man's nose. He had never been much for hand-to-hand combat.

            "I'm not alone," he said, growing frustrated with this fight. Sanosuke had been right. He was helpless like this. Without any sort of weapon, he could not hope to defend himself against multiple opponents. His hand was sprained from that one punch, hanging uselessly at his side. "You don't want to fight the man I'm with."

            "Don't worry, sweetheart," one of them bared his teeth in a gruesome version of a smile. "No one'll interrupt us here."

            Kenshin dodged another blow to his side, ducked under a punch, and missed the third swing heading toward his cheek. It struck hard, sending him reeling to the side. He tensed as hands closed over his arms, holding him in place. And his eyes widened when he saw the fist arching toward his stomach.

            "_No!_" the horrified shriek had barely left him when the fist made contact. Kenshin choked, tasting blood in his throat and on his lips. His legs collapsed beneath him, and he doubled over, gasping for air.

            Kenshin's mind went blank, but for one thing: _The baby!_ He barely noticed as he was shoved back against the wall, the loose fabric of the kimono's skirt being tugged up. Rape was on these men's minds, but that was not enough to pull him away from his anxiety over his unborn child's well-being. Even when hands pawed at his chest, faces pushing in far too close to his, lips against his throat, he could not bring himself to care. He just had to know if his baby was okay.

            "Sano!" Kenshin whimpered, cradling his stomach even as he crumpled to the ground. Anger and panic flashing in his eyes, he lifted his voice to an hysterical shout. "**_SANOSUKE!!_**"

            Suddenly, the hands were gone. The last man was yanked away, and Sanosuke loomed over him, his eyes wide with worry.

            "Kenshin!" Sanosuke blurted, too anxious to concern himself with aliases.

            His vision was failing him, graying at the edges as he sought to get to his feet. Sanosuke caught his arms, easily holding him upright. Kenshin was still panting, hugging his stomach desperately.

            "The baby," he gasped, the hand not occupied with holding his belly reaching out to pull on Sanosuke's jacket. The tall man sucked in a horrified breath of air when Kenshin coughed, more blood flecking his lips. Then, Kenshin went limp against him, unconscious.

^_^

            Kaoru was in the kitchen, sweeping up some rice that had spilled, when the messenger boy came running in. The boy, barely older than eight or nine, called for Kamiya-san repeatedly before Tae finally sent Tsubame to the back to get the 'man.' Kaoru came out, frowning uncertainly when she saw the messenger. He was panting from his run, knowing his message to be one of great importance.

            "Kamiya-san?" he gasped.

            "I'm Kamiya," Kaoru nodded. "What is it?"

            "A tall man with spiky, brown hair told me to come tell you," the boy gathered himself and stood straighter. "Your wife is at the clinic, and you should hurry to-_hey!_"

            He stumbled into Tae when Kaoru ran past him, not bothering to pay the boy or wait for him to finish the message. Tae did not bother calling after her, concerned as well. She just paid the boy from her own pocket and sent him running.

            "I hope Kouri-san is okay," she murmured anxiously.

^_^

            Kaoru burst into the clinic, only fifteen minutes after Sanosuke had brought Kenshin in. She was greeted by a solemn Sanosuke, who immediately caught her, preventing her from rushing straight back.

            "Sanosuke!" she exclaimed. "Where's Kenshin? What happened?!"

            "Relax, Kaoru," Sanosuke pushed her back, making her sit down. He handed her a cup of tea that had been prepared for that purpose. "Kenshin's okay. Megumi's checking everything out to make sure the baby's safe."

            "What happened?!" she demanded again.

            "Some guys jumped him," Sanosuke sat down next to her, sighing heavily. "I left him alone for a few minutes because there was a fight in the street. I didn't think-" he shook his head. "I found him after he started shouting. There were three of 'em on him, pawing at him like animals. I wasted them, but they did something... he was coughing up blood."

            "_WHAT?!_"

            "He threw up a lot when I brought him in here," Sanosuke shrugged. "Megumi thinks there was more damage done to his stomach than the baby. She wants to keep him here for a few days, though."

            Kaoru set down her cup for risk of spilling it with her trembling hands. She was furious beyond telling.

            "You should have stayed with him," she growled dangerously.

            "I know," Sanosuke sighed in quiet resignation. "I'm sorry."

            "Can I see him?"

            "Probably," Sanosuke waved toward a closed door. "They're in there."

            Kaoru did not wait for anymore explanations. She went straight into the indicated room, stopping short when she closed the shoji behind her. Her breath caught in her throat at the sight of Megumi and Kenshin, across the room from her.

            Kenshin was awake and on the floor, doubled over a bucket and throwing up. Megumi was kneeling beside him, one arm around his shoulders while the other gripped his arm, holding him steady. It was something Kaoru had never expected to see in her lifetime--something she hoped never to see again.

            "Kenshin!"

            He coughed again, tensing at the sound of Kaoru's voice in the room. Kaoru dropped to the floor beside him, meeting Megumi's eyes over his head. The doctor nodded, drawing back as Kaoru moved forward. 

            Kenshin pushed some of the hair out of his face and looked up tearfully when he had recovered enough to do so. His breathing was still loud and labored, but he had stopped vomiting.

            "Kaoru," he whispered, leaning against her wearily. "I'm sorry."

            "Hush," Kaoru hugged him close, pushing sweat-dampened hair away from his face. "It's not your fault. I'm just glad you're okay."

            "But the baby..." harsh sobs wracked through his slender form, and Kaoru hushed him again, looking to Megumi for assistance. The woman did not need encouraging.

            "Come on, Ken-san," she said gently. "Let's get you on the table so I can examine you."

            Kenshin went easily as they guided him to the table. The obi had already been removed, and now Megumi draped a blanket over his legs, drawing it up to his hips. With his modesty protected, she pushed open the kimono. Kaoru sat near Kenshin's head, both of his hands clenched around one of hers, her free hand gently stroking his bangs away from his forehead.

            Megumi normally would have sedated a patient who was as distraught as Kenshin, but she was concerned as to how the fetus would respond to any sedative. Which was why she let Kaoru into the room without protest. Kaoru could draw Kenshin's attention while Megumi pressed around his abdomen. With any luck, he would fall asleep on his own.

^_^

            Four days later, Kenshin went home, under strict orders to relax and stay off his feet. Other than being a bit more subdued than usual, everything returned to normal. Kaoru was overly protective of Kenshin, refusing to let him leave the dojo without someone remaining by his side at all times. Sanosuke, while feeling immensely guilty, blaming himself for what had happened, remained at the dojo. Kenshin and Kaoru both forgave him immediately, insisting that he had acted in what he thought were their best interests at the time. And Yahiko, after having heard the news, hovered around Kenshin like a protective little brother.

            A week after the event, Kenshin was feeling a bit stifled. Not a half hour would pass without someone asking how he was doing, if he was comfortable, and did he want something to eat? It built up until he finally exploded. (KaBOOM!)

            "How are you feeling, Kenshin?" Kaoru asked, pausing by him. 

            Kenshin was sitting on the porch, eyeing the growing pile of dirty laundry across the yard. At Kaoru's question, he offered a strained smile and nodded.

            "I feel just fine, Koishii," he replied, his voice tense with irritation.

            "Would you like some tea-"

            "No!" he blurted, annoyed. "No, I don't want any tea."

            "Something to eat?" she pressed. "A cushion to sit-"

            "No, no, _no!_" he stood up abruptly, exasperation emanating from him in waves. "I'm fine. I don't want anything to drink. I don't want to eat, and I _don't_ need people doting over me twenty-four/seven," he panted slightly, averting his gaze at Kaoru's startled expression. "I'm going to do the laundry."

            Kaoru reached out as he stepped into his geta and started across the yard.

            "Do you think that's wise?" she asked anxiously. "Megumi-san said-"

            "I know what Megumi-dono said," Kenshin continued walking.

            "But-"

            "I want to do the laundry!" he shouted, frustrated tears flooding to his eyes. "Is that too much to ask?!"

            "N-no!" Kaoru stammered. 

            "Good!" 

            Kenshin turned on his heel and stalked over to the laundry bucket. Kaoru watched in astonishment as he angrily shoved some hair out of his eyes. He appeared to be muttering to himself, and... talking to the laundry. Shaking her head in mixed concern and amusement, Kaoru made up her mind to go talk to Megumi. She seemed to recall something about mood swings.

Notes: _No_, Kenshin was not raped. This is a comedy, not an angst fic. He got hit in the stomach. Not a good thing. But he's okay. Baby's okay. We're ALL OKAY! Okay? Yes, anyway… I hope people liked this chapter. The next chapter will be much lighter. Actually, it's two chapters in one since they're both so short. Chapter seven and eight: Kenshin is self-conscious about his increasing weight.


	8. Chapter 7&8

Disclaimer: Kenshin, Kaoru, and the rest all belong to the creators of Rurouni Kenshin—namely, not me. Makes you wonder, grouping all those people under 'the rest.' Think they like that?

Yahiko: Hell no!

Sano: Actually, it makes me feel a bit under-appreciated.

Rurouni Kenshin cast: *stares at Sano*

Sano: Well it does!

Notes: Okay, so the last chapter was rather serious. This next chapter is actually two chapters put together because they were just so darned short that I felt almost guilty creating two separate pages for them. So here they are. Two light-hearted little chapters.

The Path of the Sword

7. I'm not fat

            Once again, Kenshin stood in front of the mirror. Fully dressed this time, he eyed his waistline. It had not been immediately noticeable, but as the weeks passed, he had been unable to ignore the bulging of his stomach. He felt heavier and more off balance than ever. The hakama and gi did nothing to hide the weight gain, but the kimono did. Megumi had informed him that it would not take too long before even a kimono would show his growing waistline.

            "Che," Kenshin cursed softly, fiddling with his gi. It did very little good, and he managed only to make it wrinkle and bunch up over his chest. "Kaoru!"

            A moment later, Kaoru peeked in the room. She smiled when she saw Kenshin examining himself in the mirror.

            "What is it, Anata?" she asked lightly.

            "I look horrible!" he whined.

            "You're beautiful, Kenshin," Kaoru kissed the top of his head lightly, hugging him from behind.

            They looked odd like that in the mirror. Kaoru the man, Kenshin the woman, the former taller than the latter, and the petite redhead visibly pregnant. Without his scar, Kenshin looked doubly strange, and Kaoru looked odd with a five o'clock shadow. Absently, Kenshin lifted his hand to brush across Kaoru's rough cheek.

            "You need to shave," he announced.

            "It's such a pain," Kaoru protested. "You never had to shave."

            "Yes, and it was a source of great embarrassment for me throughout my years in the Ishin Shishi," he smiled brightly. "But you look funny with a beard, so go shave."

            Kaoru made a face at him in the mirror.

            "You know how embarrassing it was to have Sanosuke show me how?" she demanded.

            Kenshin smirked and pushed her out of the room. He turned to pick up a kimono, sighing in irritation as he looked at it.

            "Oh well," he muttered, undressing awkwardly. Kaoru had finally managed to teach him how to properly wear the kimono and obi. He chuckled as he fumbled to tie the obi in a simple bow. It had only taken six months. Stepping in front of the mirror again, Kenshin sighed. "This is as good as it's going to get."

            Actually, in the kimono, he looked fine. With the extra padding removed, he looked the same as always--well, as he had looked for the past six months.

            "Careful, Kenshin," he murmured to himself. "You're starting to think of yourself as a woman."

            "Oi! Kenshin!" Yahiko's voice was only slightly muffled, coming through the door. "Hurry up! The tofu isn't walking itself here!"

            "Hai, hai!" Kenshin shook his head, tying a ribbon in his hair. That was another thing he had weaseled out of Kaoru. Now that he had grown confident enough to go to town regularly, assured he would not be recognized, he had managed to convince Kaoru that it was a good idea.

            "One freak incident doesn't mean I'll get attacked every time I go into town!" he had insisted.

            Kaoru had been less than keen on the idea, but with some creative arguing, not to mention more than a few frustrated tears, he had gotten his way. It was amazing what crying could get a person.

            So now, Kenshin squared his shoulders, took a deep breath, and followed Yahiko out of the dojo.

^_^

            The eighth month. Kenshin could no longer hide his growing belly with a heavy kimono. While he was not overly huge for a pregnant woman, he still felt fat whenever he caught sight of himself in the mirror. Kaoru had to help him out of bed each morning, but once he was up, he was usually good for the day. And he ate--a lot.

            "I swear, Kenshin," Kaoru laughed when she walked into the kitchen and saw him eating some leftovers from that morning's breakfast. "We're going to run out of food if you keep this up."

            "I can't help it!" he smiled sheepishly, not pausing in his eating. "I'm hungry."

            "Why don't you stop at the Akabeko while you're out getting the tofu this afternoon?" Kaoru suggested, reaching for a bite of the soup for herself. Kenshin held it out of her reach, shaking his head adamantly.

            "Mine," he said, a teasing glimmer in his eyes. "But I will take you up on that offer."

            "Selfish," Kaoru muttered, kissing his cheek affectionately.

            That was another thing they had yet to get used to. Neither Kaoru nor Kenshin felt comfortable with overt displays of affection while they were like this. And they had certainly never considered having sexual relations. Kenshin had put both of their thoughts into a few short words when he had said, "I wouldn't know what to do." So they kept it to a peck on the cheek--a light kiss on the lips at the most.

            Kenshin nodded contentedly, mouth filled with food. Kaoru laughed at him and shook her head, backing off.

            "I've got to go to the Akabeko," she announced. "Got to keep working to pay for your eating habits."

            "Megumi-dono says it's perfectly normal for me to eat this much," Kenshin replied hotly, his face flushing in embarrassment.

            "Sure, Kenshin," Kaoru waved. "When you have that baby and are still forty pounds overweight, _then_ tell me it's normal."

            She ducked out the door, just in time to avoid the tofu pail that hit the wall near where she had been standing. Retreating quickly, she could hear the sound of Kenshin cursing up a storm behind her.

            "**_I will not be @#%$!ing FAT!_**"

            Then, she was safely on the other side of the gate.

8. The nose of a wolf

            No one would ever mistake Kenshin for an overweight woman. For one, he was slender everywhere but for his stomach. Pregnant women just have a bearing about them that screams 'I have a baby here,' and Kenshin was no exception.

            Yahiko ran ahead in the busy street, too energetic to wait for Kenshin, who walked at a much slower rate behind him. Kenshin was not about to try to keep up. He would end up flat on his face if he ever tried that. So he trailed along behind Yahiko, wincing a bit as the baby kicked him. The unborn child was ruthless. Kenshin rested a hand on the front of his stomach, willing the baby to settle down inside of him.

            "Oi, Kouri-san!" it was amazing how easily Yahiko picked up that name. Of course, as the boy had been the one to come up with the name, it made sense. "You're slower than usual today."

            Kenshin smiled tolerantly down at Yahiko. At least someone was still shorter than him. Nevermind that Yahiko was fifteen years his junior.

            "You try carrying an extra twenty-five pounds around in your stomach for awhile and see how quickly _you_ can move," he replied easily.

            Yahiko shook his head, grinning deviously.

            "No thank you!" he laughed. "That's what girls are for."

            "Don't let any woman hear you say _that_," Kenshin rolled his eyes. "And at the moment, I feel a bit insulted by that."

            "Sorry," Yahiko ducked his head sheepishly. "Sometimes I forget... you know?"

            Kenshin sighed and nodded. It figured that the boy would so quickly adapt to him being a woman. Of course, he _did_ have almost nine months to get used to it.

            "I know," he grumbled. He waved the boy off, indicating that he could run ahead again. "We're almost to the Akabeko. Go ahead and tell them we're on our way and that I'm starved."

            Yahiko snickered and quickly disappeared into the crowd. Kenshin shook his head, smiling in amusement, and braced his hand in the small of his back as he paused to rest. Some people jostled against him, grumbling about his abrupt halt. Seeing the pregnant woman, however, convinced most of them to keep their mouths shut. A few of the less courteous men and women shot him dirty looks and kept walking. Kenshin ignored their irritation and took a moment to convince himself to keep walking.

            It was actually Yahiko's shout that persuaded him to move again. Kenshin waved to the boy, acknowledging him and letting Yahiko know that he was okay. But as the boy drew nearer, Kenshin noticed the panic in his eyes. Then, Yahiko was momentarily forgotten as someone bumped into him roughly from behind. 

            Gasping in alarm, Kenshin stumbled forward, trying without success to keep himself from falling. An arm slipped around him, bracing across his bulging stomach. Kenshin looked up, startled that anyone other than Sanosuke was strong enough to catch him so easily. Without the pregnancy, he was fairly light weight, and he would not have been so surprised, but at the moment he weighed quite a bit more than usual. And this person had caught him with only one arm.

            "Oh god," the soft words escaped him before he could stop them. Kenshin found himself staring up into the harsh countenance of none other than Saitou Hajime, aka Fujita Goro. Saitou's expression was an odd one--mixed concern and irritation.

            "You should watch where you stop, Okaasan." Trust Saitou to make it sound like it was no fault of his own. Kenshin frowned uneasily.

            "Excuse me... officer," he choked out. "I was careless."

            "Oi!" Yahiko appeared then. "Leave Kouri-san alone!"

            Saitou gave Yahiko a glance filled with disdain. He released Kenshin, only after making sure the 'woman' was steady on her feet.

            "You know this woman, gaki-chan?"

            Yahiko would not give Saitou the satisfaction of responding with his usual irritation over the 'chan' comment. He boldly stepped in front of Kenshin, placing himself between Saitou and the petite redhead. Kenshin blinked in surprise, still a bit anxious about Saitou's presence.

            "We don't need _your_ help," Yahiko growled.

            "Yahiko-kun," Kenshin murmured uneasily. "Let's just get going."

            "Just watch where you're going next time," Saitou muttered. "No one wants to be blamed for knocking down a pregnant woman."

            So much for good intentions. Kenshin and Yahiko glared after him with matching expressions of distaste. When the tall officer had melted into the crowd, both of them breathed sighs of relief.

            "That was close," Yahiko grumbled. "I was _trying_ to warn you!"

            "I doubt I could have moved out of the way in time if you had," Kenshin smiled shakily. "I'm surprised, though. Of all people, I would have thought Saitou would give me a second glance."

            "You're not _that_ good looking," Yahiko laughed.

            "You know that's not what I meant, Yahiko," Kenshin blushed furiously, continuing toward the Akabeko. "And that was not funny."

            Yahiko continued to snigger.

            "Sure, Kouri. Sure," he snorted. "Do you think Saitou even likes women like that?"

            "Yahiko!" Kenshin gasped, startled at the boy's bold words. "Saitou has a wife!"

            "You're kidding!" Yahiko made a show of looking ill and gagging. "Gross."

            Kenshin did laugh then. After all, he agreed. He could not imagine any woman finding Saitou attractive--in looks _or_ personality.

            "Shame on you, Yahiko," he scolded uselessly.

            "Shame on yourself!" Yahiko grinned. "You think so too!"

            "That's besides the point," Kenshin protested, still smiling.

            "Whatever," Yahiko ran ahead. "We're almost there, Kouri-san! Maybe they'll finish cooking our lunch by the time you get across the street."

            "Very funny, Yahiko-chan," Kenshin said hotly. "My pace is just fine."

            "Waddle a little slower, why don't you?"

            "I'm not a duck!"

            "You walk like one!"

            "Why you little-"

            Yahiko laughed and slipped into the Akabeko. Muttering under his breath, Kenshin forced himself to walk a little faster. He would have to resist this overwhelming desire to throttle the kid.

Okaasan—I'm probably using the entirely incorrect translation of this word, but in effect, Saitou calls Kenshin 'mother.' It sounds stupid in English, so I used this word instead.

Gaki—brat. We all know the chan thing.

Notes: Okay, so this was just meant to be a little insightful, but more for fun, kind of chapter. And next comes the one we've all been waiting for… Kenshin goes to the mall. I'm kidding! Chapter nine: The miracle of birth.


	9. Chapter nine: The Miracle of Birth

Disclaimer: I don't own any of them. There. It has been disclaimed.

Notes: This fic was so much fun to write, and now that I am posting the last chapters, I am sad. Now it'll just fade away with the rest of the works that are not updated until it becomes a lonely little fic on page 13. *Sigh* Oh well.

Enishi: Let me say, I looked at that picture and was not sure whether I should burst out laughing or be appalled. I settled for laughing hysterically and calling my friend and making her look at the picture. I will admit that it is not exactly the way I pictured them in my mind, but I commend you on your artistic abilities and creativity. That marvelous picture is now taking up 234 KB on my computer desktop. I love it. Thank you for sharing that with us.

You all make me feel so special. There are only two more installments. Here's the first half of the end of my fic. *Goes off to weep*

And now, the moment we've all been waiting for!

The Path of the Sword

9. The miracle of birth

            His feet hurt, his back ached, he had to use the bathroom every half hour, he was _still_ hungry, and his mood changed with the minute. Kenshin was more than ready to be back to normal. 

            "I look like a red-haired cow!" he complained, pacing very slowly in the kitchen, a bowl of miso in hand. "Did anyone ever think that there was a _reason_ men don't carry the children?"

            "Anata," Kaoru followed Kenshin around the kitchen, giving Sanosuke a helpless glance. "You don't look like a cow."

            "He does have a point about the baby-carrying bit," Sanosuke offered.

            Kaoru shot him a dirty look.

            "You're not helping, Sanosuke," she growled.

            "It's the truth," Sanosuke retorted.

            "You're supposed to help Kenshin feel _better_, not fuel his anger!" Kaoru shot back.

            "Well, you're not doing a whole lot, are you?" he snapped.

            "How _can_ I when you keep saying stupid things to contradict everything I say?!"

            "Well, excuse me for not knowing what your every thought is..."

            Kenshin watched them argue, on the verge of crying himself. He wondered briefly what they would do if he burst into tears right then. But he did not have the chance to ponder that question for more than a few seconds.

            "You irritating freeloader-"

            "Pushy... girly man!"

            "Why you-"

            "Ano... guys?"

            "If you weren't so-

            "-damned bossy-"

            "Kaoru? Sano?"

            "I'll kick your-"

            "Like you could!"

            "Kaoru-koi-_ahhhhh!_"

            Kaoru and Sanosuke cut off at Kenshin's sudden exclamation. They both reached out when his legs folded beneath him, and he dropped abruptly. Kenshin's face was twisted into an expression of pain as he clutched at Kaoru's gi desperately.

            "Something is happening," he gasped.

            "Is it the baby?" Sanosuke blurted.

            "Of course it's the baby, you idiot!" Kaoru snapped. "Megumi-san had said it's only a matter of days before it ca-"

            Kenshin interrupted her with a loud groan, dropping again.

            "Go get Megumi-san!"

            "Right!"

            Sanosuke ran out the door while Kaoru helped Kenshin remain on his feet. After a few minutes, Kenshin relaxed, panting with relief.

            "It stopped," he murmured, obviously happy about that fact.

            "Let's get you to the room," Kaoru suggested.

            "I think this yukata is ruined," Kenshin sighed, flushing in mild embarrassment.

            "Why?"

            "Didn't Megumi-dono say something about the water breaking being a sure sign of beginning labor?" Kenshin muttered.

            Kaoru turned very red.

            "Oh."

            "I need to lay down," Kenshin pointed out.

            "Oh!" Kaoru all but dragged him into their room. Kenshin stumbled after her, amused and a little frightened. The pain had been unexpected and very unpleasant. He was certain he never wanted to feel that again.

^_^

            Kenshin's agonized scream could be heard throughout the neighborhood. Not to mention the rather colorful explicatives that joined it.

            "_God @$#%&! it!_" Kenshin was not a happy rurouni. He would have gladly continued being pregnant for another nine months if it meant he could avoid actually giving birth.

            "Megumi-san!" Kaoru's shouts joined Kenshin's. "_Do_ something!"

            Megumi sighed and rolled her eyes.

            "Relax, Kaoru," she ordered. "You're no help at all to Ken-san if you're panicking."

            As she spoke she adjusted a large cushion behind Kenshin's head and adjusted the blanket over him. He relaxed abruptly, panting loudly. Megumi took advantage of the break to talk to him, snapping her fingers in front of his eyes to gain his attention. Kenshin's eyes flew open, and he focused on the fingers briefly before looking past them to Megumi. He looked as unhappy as a person could get, mouth hanging open in attempt to draw in more oxygen.

            "We've got another fifteen or twenty minutes before you go into another contraction, Ken-san," she explained quickly. "Rest while you have the chance."

            He nodded, a quick, jerking movement. Closing his eyes again, he tried to relax, still feeling the remnants of the last contraction. Megumi smiled. She loved being present during a birth.

            "I want you to bend your knees and put your feet flat on the floor, Ken-san," she ordered, pushing his legs up as she spoke. 

            Kenshin cooperated for the most part, only protesting when she made a move to push his knees apart. He uttered a startled yelp and rose onto his elbows, alarm and embarrassment clear in his eyes.

            "What are you doing?!" he demanded.

            "The baby won't come out if you keep your legs clenched together like that, Ken-san," Megumi said gently. She glanced at Kaoru. "Where are those towels?"

            "Yahiko's getting them."

            "And Sanosuke?"

            "Helping boil the water."

            "Hey!" Kenshin did not appreciate being dismissed so readily. He glared at them with overt irritation. "What am I supposed to do? Just sit here with my legs spread for the world to see?"

            Kaoru blushed, and Megumi laughed.

            "That's what the blanket is for, Ken-san," she explained. "Until you're ready to start pushing, no one will be looking at anything."

            "Wait a minute!" Kenshin reached up and struggled against her hands, still trying to push his knees apart. "What do you mean by _that?!_"

            "Someone has to catch the baby, Ken-san," Megumi said patiently. "For now, there's still a blanket covering you. By the time the baby is ready to come, you probably won't much care."

            "Maybe not, but I care _now!_" he protested.

            "Kenshin, just let Megumi-san do her job," Kaoru pleaded, pushing against his shoulders in attempt to get him to lay down again. Kenshin fell back against the gentle nudging, still fighting the hands pushing his legs apart. "She's done this before. She knows what she's doing."

            "Perhaps so," Kenshin glared at Megumi in warning. "But the blanket stays where it is until I'm damn good and ready for it to move."

            "Of course, Ken-san," Megumi smiled mildly.

            He finally relented, relaxing enough to let Megumi nudge his legs apart. Kaoru sighed with relief and sat back down next to Kenshin's head. She took a handkerchief and tenderly dabbed at his forehead, swiping away some of the sweat that had already gathered there. Two hours had already passed, and in that time, there had only had three contractions. Megumi had already explained that the shorter the time between contractions, the closer the time was for the baby to come.

            Kenshin's breathing started to become labored and loud again. Kaoru winced at his hand squeezing down on hers brutally, but she kept stroking the hair away from his face. Megumi leaned forward.

            "Keep breathing, Ken-san," she suggested. "Deep breaths..."

            "Deep... breaths... _hell!_" Kenshin gasped, grinding his teeth together against the pain. "Just how... much longer... is... this going... to take-" he cut off in a strangled cry of agony.

            "At this rate, you should be having the baby sometime tonight," she said gently.

            "_TONIGHT?!_" Megumi had made the mistake of getting within arm's reach. She found herself with a fistful of her apron in Kenshin's steel grip. He gave her a crazed, pained glare. "_That is **hours** away!_"

            "Kenshin, let go of Megumi-san!" Kaoru pried at his fingers.

            "I'll let her go when she tells me I can get this baby out of me _now-owowowow!_" he released Megumi's apron abruptly, collapsing back onto the futon.

            "Breathe, Ken-san," Megumi urged.

            "_I'm @#%$ing breathing!_"

            Kaoru sighed and glanced at her hand. She wondered if she would be able to use that again when Kenshin finally released it.

^_^

            Night fell, and Sanosuke and Yahiko brought out the candles. Kaoru and Megumi remained hovering over Kenshin, who was dozing while he had the chance. The contractions were growing longer and more frequent, and Megumi told them that it would not be much longer.

            "Does labor usually last this long?" Kaoru asked anxiously.

            "It depends on the woman," Megumi shrugged, glancing at Sanosuke. "Go heat some more water."

            "Right!" Sanosuke left the room.

            Yahiko sat restlessly nearby.

            "Will Kenshin be okay?" he asked uneasily. "I mean... he's in so much pain..."

            Megumi smiled warmly and nodded.

            "Labor can be a painful experience," she acknowledged. "But it's worth it in the end. Ken-san is strong. He should be just fine."

            "Oh," Yahiko looked at Kenshin again. The man... woman... looked as exhausted as he likely felt. Red hair clung to Kenshin's face, dark and wet with sweat. It was as vulnerable as Yahiko had ever seen the rurouni. "Good."

            Kenshin woke with a pained gasp, and the cycle began again.

^_^

            It was after midnight when Megumi announced that the time was drawing near. Kenshin was ecstatic.

            "Just get it out!" he sobbed, tears joining the sweat on his face.

            "Try to relax, Ken-san," Megumi waved Sanosuke over and took the hot water from him. Yahiko handed her the towels, and she waved them away.

            "I've got a kid the size of Yahiko trying to force its way through a space smaller than my mouth, and you want me to _relax?!_"

            "The baby's not really as big as me, is it?"

            "No, Yahiko," Megumi muttered. "It's not. Ken-san, after the next contraction I want you to push."

            Kenshin gave her a panicked look, still panting heavily.

            "Push what?"

            "That baby, Ken-san, the baby!" Megumi burst out in exasperation.

            "How the hell am I supposed to do that?!" Kenshin ground out through clenched teeth. "It's inside of me!"

            "Oh, for god's sake-!" Megumi looked at Kaoru, who just shrugged helplessly. "Am I the only woman in here who knows what that means?!"

            "Don't look at me or Yahiko," Sanosuke waved his hands quickly. "Jou-chan's a guy now too."

            "_God @#%$ you! Just tell me what to do!_" Kenshin roared.

            "Gaaah! Listen!" Megumi spat. "Contractions are your body's way of pushing the baby out of the womb. But once it starts moving free of the uterus, you have to do the rest of the work. So you have to contract your own muscles-"

            "_MEGUMI!_" Kenshin glared at her murderously. "A little faster!"

            "_Just do whatever feels like you're making the baby move!_"

            With an agonized shout, Kenshin pushed. Megumi reached for the blanket.

            "I'm moving the blanket now, Ken-san," she told him over his shouts.

            "_I don't CARE!_" he reached out blindly and caught Kaoru's ponytail. Yanking on it brutally, he shouted again. "Reach in there and pull it_ out_ if you have to!"

            Kaoru joined in Kenshin's shouts, thrown partly over Kenshin's chest, his hand entangled in her hair. Sanosuke and Yahiko jumped forward to help pry Kenshin's fingers out of her hair, only for him to release it on his own to shove them away.

            "_GET OUT OF MY FACE!_"

            "I never knew Kenshin could get so loud," Sanosuke grumbled, rubbing his sore bottom from when he'd landed. Yahiko nodded his agreement.

            "Push, Ken-san!" Megumi insisted.

            Spitting out a variety of interesting and rather inappropriate words, a few of which even Sanosuke did not think he had known, Kenshin pushed again. He fell back, gasping for air. Whimpering desperately, he knew it was not yet over.

            "I can see the head, Ken-san," Megumi encouraged.

            "Is it a girl or a boy?" Yahiko asked.

            "It's just a head, dummy," Kaoru snapped. "We don't know."

            Yahiko blushed and griped under his breath. Nobody noticed, though, because Kenshin was screaming again, leaning forward slightly to push. Megumi shouted encouragements, and he just hollered curses back at her.

            "One more time!" Megumi insisted. "You're almost done!"

            With a loud roar, Kenshin pushed for all he was worth. The pain decreased to a fraction of what it had been, and he collapsed back with a sob of relief. And then he heard the sound he had been waiting for: the wail of a newborn child. Kenshin's eyelids fluttered open again, and he struggled to sit up, rising on his elbows.

            Kaoru was hovering over Megumi, tears in her eyes as the doctor wrapped the child in a clean blanket, wiping some of the dampness off its face. She looked up with a broad smile.

            "Congratulations, Ken-san," she said tearfully. "You have a beautiful baby boy."

            "A boy..." Kenshin nodded dazedly, dropping back onto the futon wearily. "Good, good..."

            He fell asleep.

Notes: Well, Kenshin was rather… pushy here. It can be excused under the circumstances, right? Okay, so all that crud about contractions and the timing. I don't know much more than the basics of child birth. Sure, I know the basic mechanics and such, but the details are just things I made up. I apologize for being too lazy to do the research. I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter anyway. Next chapters: 10 & 11—Return to beginning/ Epilogue.


	10. Chapter 10&11

Disclaimer: I don't own 'em. Check.

Notes: Okay. This is it. The final two chapters. I squished them onto one page thingy because they're so short. I'm glad so many people liked this. But, alas, it is over. I'm off to finish up the latest story I've been writing. Perhaps it won't be too long before I post that. Maybe awhile. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the final chapter.

11. Return to beginning

            Kenshin woke a few hours after he had fainted, demanding to see the baby. Kaoru, unable to deny him (he had threatened with grave bodily harm if he did not get to see the child) went to retrieve the child. Not bothering to hold back his tears, Kenshin curled around the child, crooning soft nonsense to his baby boy. Kaoru smiled warmly and joined him in bed, spooning against his back and resting her cheek against his so that she could watch the baby as well.

            After awhile, the baby fell back to sleep, and they just watched him. Kaoru closed her eyes, ready to fall asleep again herself.

            "Koishii?" Kenshin's soft question convinced her to open her eyes.

            "Hmm?"

            "Now that this is over..." he hesitated, lightly fingering the wispy, auburn fuzz on his child's head.

            "Your wondering if we'll go back to being normal again?" Kaoru guessed.

            "Well... yeah."

            "I don't know," Kaoru said honestly. "Although, I think I'd rather stay the man of the family. Do you think they'd let us stay like this?"

            "Don't even suggest it," Kenshin growled.

            Kaoru laughed quietly and rubbed her cheek against his tenderly. Her rough skin scraped against his, proving that she had not shaved since the day before. Kenshin shivered, wrinkling his nose in distaste, and Kaoru chuckled again.

            "I do kind of miss being a girl," she admitted. "I miss gossiping with Tae-san and the other women in town."

            "Gossiping about what?" Kenshin frowned. He had never gossiped with the women.

            "The nice thing about girl talk is that guys don't know what we're talking about," Kaoru rebuked mildly. "That includes you."

            "Technically, I'm a girl now," Kenshin pointed out mischievously.

            "Yes, but with any luck, you won't be soon enough," Kaoru retorted.

            Kenshin sighed, not really that frustrated at being shot down. He still could not win these domestic arguments. He decided that maybe it was just him.

            "I will not miss being a woman," he announced. He groaned as something occurred to him. "I am going to be so out of shape when this is done! I haven't touched my sword in over six months."

            "That can be easily remedied," Kaoru purred suggestively.

            Kenshin could not help himself. He snorted and burst into soft peals of laughter.

            "To think that I used to consider you innocent," he muttered. "That was _not_ the sword I was talking about!"

            "I know."

            "Down, boy," Kenshin smirked. "I'm still female, and you're still very male. We'd just mess with things that are better off left alone."

            Kaoru sighed, frustrated.

            "You're right," she admitted. "But when we're back to normal, you're mine for a day."

            Kenshin groaned softly. He wondered briefly how he would survive an entire day of... that.

            "Just don't expect me to have the next kid," he sighed.

            "After yesterday, I'm not sure I want to do it either," Kaoru replied.

            Kenshin just smiled and adjusted his position so he was sure he would not smother his child. Then, wrapped securely in Kaoru's embrace, he allowed himself to drift off into slumber again. Kaoru, noticing that her husband was no longer responding, smiled and relaxed, joining him in dreamland.

^_^

            Confetti swirled around the group of partying, incorporeal beings. Hypothetical champagne glasses chinked while a nonexistent DJ played an upbeat tune on a nonphysical record player.

            "I told you it would work!"

            "WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

            "No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No!"

            "For god's sake, shut him up!"

            "A miracle of miracles!"

            "I love messing with those two!"

            "No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No!"

            _WHAM! Crash!_

            "Itai!"

            "Thank you!"

            "No?"

            "GAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

            "Wouldst we changeth them back?"

            "Huh?"

            "Yes!"

            "What?"

            _Scuffle, scuffle. Triumphant snickering._

            "He'll never say no again!"

            "Just change them back already!"

            "Mmrphrnrmr!"

            "Heh heh heh!"

12. Epilogue: Bliss revisited

            "Kaoru-koishii?" Kenshin called out worriedly. "Are you okay?"

            It was just after breakfast time, and everyone was awake. Yahiko had gone to the Akabeko already, set to work the lunch and dinner shift. Sanosuke was nowhere to be seen. He had returned to his own dwelling once things had returned to normal, although he never missed the opportunity to tease Kenshin about his feminine ways. Fortunately for Kenshin, and not so fortunate for Sanosuke, Kenshin was the quicker wit of the two, and Sanosuke usually ended up eating his words.

            And now, Kenshin stood outside the backhouse, a four-month-old Kenji cradled against his shoulder. He tapped on the door again, his anxiety clear in his soft-spoken plea to his wife.

            "Kaoru? Maybe you should go see Gensai-sensei today," he suggested.

            He heard soft cursing through the door and blinked in alarm.

            "Oro!"

            Kaoru had never been the swearing type before. A few of the things she was saying made him wonder where she had learned to speak so crudely.

            "Koishii-"

            The shoji snapped open, startling Kenshin again. Kaoru glared at him.

            "This is all your fault," she announced without preamble.

            "Oro?" Kenshin stared at her blankly.

            "I'm pregnant again!"

            "Oro!" Kenshin recovered quickly this time, grinning deviously. "Actually, if I remember correctly, Koishii, you were the one who arranged for Megumi-dono to baby-sit, Yahiko to work, and Sanosuke to stay away. Was it back when you said that I was yours for a day?"

            She growled softly, offering another word that was much too inappropriate to write down. Kenshin sighed.

            "Where did you pick up these things?" he wondered absently, following the young woman back to the dojo.

            "From you, Anata," Kaoru replied, sickeningly sweet.

            "Oro!" Kenshin blinked. "Me? When did I-...oh."

            He smiled, watching Kaoru disappear into the kitchen to make herself some tea. It was going to be a pleasant nine months.

The End

Kenshin: Is it over?

Kaoru: I think so.

Kenshin: Thank heavens.

Kaoru: Poor widdle Kenshin. Want Kaoru to kiss it and make it all better?

Kenshin: *Sly smile*

Fitz: Get a room! This is not a lemon!

Kenshin: Such the pity.

Kaoru: *Nods in agreement*

Final Notes: *Sob* It's over! Well… as for the title of the story, I once read—well, read several times—that Kenji can be translated as 'path of the sword.' Now, this may or may not be correct, but this is how I am using it. Well, it's been grand. *Runs away humming tunes from Anastasia* Dang it, Chibi Assassin! How could you let me listen to that? I'll never get those songs out of my head.


End file.
